1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terminal block to which an electric wire including a shield material is connected, and particularly, relates to improvement of a structure in which the terminal block holds the shield material.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, an electric wire at least partially covered with a shield material such as a braided wire has been used as a high-voltage line for a vehicle. A technique to connect an end of the electric wire to a terminal block of a device is described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-344398 (JP 2006-344398 A) and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-135167 (JP 2012-135167 A).
JP 2006-344398 A describes a terminal block of an electric apparatus, and the terminal block includes a terminal connected to an electric wire of which an outer circumference is covered with a braided wire, and a housing in which to accommodate the terminal. An end of the braided wire is placed so as to cover an outer peripheral surface of a tubular member fixed to the housing. The end of the braided wire is tightened by a ring-shaped fixing member from its outer peripheral side, so that the braided wire is held by the tubular member.
JP 2012-135167 A describes a structure in which an electric wire covered with a shield portion and configured to connect a motor generator to an inverter in a vehicle is connected to a terminal inside a housing. An end of the shield portion is held by being sandwiched between two members fixed to the housing, that is, an inner cylindrical member and an outer cylindrical member.
In a case where the electric wire with the shield material is connected to the terminal in the conventional technique, the end of the shield material is held by being sandwiched between two members, and at least one of those members is fixed to the housing, as described in the above two patent documents. Thus, two members are used in a holding structure of the shield material. However, it is demanded that the number of components be reduced more than the above structure to improve working efficiency.
From the viewpoint of reducing the number of components, such a structure is considered that one shield bracket fixed to a housing is used as a member used to hold a shield material, and the shield bracket is folded and caulked with an end of the shield material being sandwiched therein, so as to hold the shield material. However, in such a configuration that the shield bracket is just folded, spring back occurs after bending, so that the caulking is loosened. Therefore, the shield material cannot be held surely.